BJP refutes Manish Tewari`s allegations

Ahmedabad: The BJP on Monday termed as "baseless and politically motivated" the allegations levelled by Union minister Manish Tewari about the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation`s (GSPC) deal with a foreign company.

"The Congress has invented a scam which does not exist. Contracts given or contracts cancelled are normally done with prior approval given by the Director General Hydrocarbons... Even in this matter it is so," said Nirmala Sitaraman, BJP spokesperson.

"This contract the Congress is talking about, was cancelled in 2010... Not a rupee was given on this count," she said.

Congress government`s Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari had demanded an answer from Chief Minister Narendra Modi today over a report alleging that his government gave a foreign company GeoGlobal Resourcing 10 per cent stake worth Rs 20,000 crore in a gas exploration project virtually for nothing. He posed a number of questions to Modi regarding the deal.

Gujarat government spokesperson Saurabh Patel, who is also a minister of state for energy, said in a statement that the GSPC informed the Director General Hydrocarbons in 2010 that the deal with GeoGlobal has been cancelled and they do not have 10 per cent participating interest anymore in the oil exploration of the Krishna Godavari Basin Deendayal Block.

"As no commercial production has been done from KG-OSN-2001/3 gas block so far, there is no question of giving any benefits to that company," Patel said.